Today, Merriam-Webster observed that word searches for “schadenfreude” had spiked 30,500% after President Donald Trump announced his positive COVID-19 diagnosis—and the word was included in several news stories and headlines about the diagnosis and the global reaction. Merriam-Webster defines the Read more >
I signed the letter condemning the online abuse of JK Rowling along with a number of other writers. I did it because I am sick of trolls and because most women in public life have been the subject of threats Read more >
This weekend, the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas, Austin is opening a new major exhibition, Expanding Abstraction: Pushing the Boundaries of Painting in the Americas, 1958–1983. The exhibition concentrates on the abstract, nonrepresentational forms and experimental Read more >
Congratulations! Today is your day! You’re off to great places! Like a galaxy far, far away! J.J. Abrams of Star Wars fame has arrived. And he is bringing you a big surprise! Oh, The Places You’ll Go! is coming to the Read more >
This year has brought a lot of things, and most of them have been bad. One good thing, though, is there has been quite been a lot of innovative, beautiful, and fascinating book cover design, including, I’ve recently noticed, a book Read more >
Hi. Welcome to Nobel Prize speculation season, which used to be a fun time when all us serfs in the kingdom of letters would curl up around our pumpkin-spiced vodka tonics and dredge up charming old world poets and Philip Read more >
Today the Center for Fiction announced the shortlist for its 2020 First Novel Prize. The prize, first awarded in 2006, recognizes the best debut fiction of the year, and it comes with $15,000; each finalist receives $1,000. Previous winners include Read more >
Let’s start with the good news—incredible news, really. Poet Kevin Young and publisher Jamia Wilson, two influential African-American gatekeepers in the book and media sectors, are about to take on illustrious new jobs. Young, currently the poetry editor for the Read more >
Here’s a much-needed palate cleanser after last night’s debate, and a reminder that solidarity works: in a show of support for The New Yorker‘s union, which is in the middle of a contract dispute with management, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Read more >
Truman Capote—the man who created Holly Golightly, wrote the most famous true crime book of all time, sparred with Gore Vidal, and threw the party to end all parties—would have turned 96 today. Capote’s final years were spent in and Read more >
In March, when it became clear that we were all going to be in quarantine for a long while, I thought maybe I’d use the time to become an extremely well-rounded and productive person. Maybe I’d get really into running Read more >
Pandemic? Depression? The rapid destabilization of one of the richest countries in the world? No, 2020 will likely go down in history as the year we had way too many open letters. Today sees an open letter in response to Read more >
You may be one of the world’s most prestigious and coveted literary awards, with a half-century of iconic literary figures in you corner, but you—yes you, anthropomorphized Booker Prize statuette—are no match for the ungodly might of the Obama Publishing Machine. Read more >
This has been an exciting month for Kaveh Akbar. Earlier this month, the author of Calling a Wolf a Wolf was named poetry editor of The Nation, a glittering position once held by writers like Langston Hughes, Anne Sexton, and William B. Read more >
When we were in school, Tuesdays were, arguably, the best weekday. The cafeteria likely nurtured your young, hopeful soul with Taco Tuesday. A crunchy shell, baked beans, hot sauce, melted cheese! And now, as adults who love to read, we Read more >
The results are in, and the list of most challenged books from the last decade is a mix of American classics, LGBTQ-themed books, and stories about female agency and empowerment. In other words, all the books that we should be Read more >
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